The ACCC has instituted Federal Court proceedings against Decathlon.
Decathlon sold sports and recreation goods that did not comply with the applicable product safety standards, the consumer watchdog has alleged.
This is in breach of the Australian Consumer Law.
The ACCC alleges that between October 2016 and December 2019, Decathlon offered several products that breached the law.
This included 14 models of basketball rings and backboards and five models of portable swimming pools for sale that failed to carry the safety labelling, consumer warnings or installation and use instructions required under applicable product safety standards.
In that period, Decathlon sold more than 400 basketball rings and backboards, and nearly 300 portable pools online or at its physical stores.
The pools included small inflatable and non-inflatable pools, which were intended for use by small children.
ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard commented on the proceedings.
“Safety standards exist to protect consumers when using certain products. It is essential that businesses comply with safety warning and labelling requirements to protect consumers from the risk of serious injury or even death from the use of these products."
The ACCC alleges that warnings such as “improper installation or swinging on the ring may cause serious injury or death” were missing from many basketball products.
The ACCC also alleges Decathlon made a false or misleading representation that some of the basketball rings and backboards were safe to attach to brickwork, when that was not the case.
In addition, Decathlon allegedly supplied 66 portable swimming pools which were 30 centimetres deep without required warnings including “children have drowned in portable swimming pools”, “ensure active adult supervision at all times” and “pool fencing laws apply to this pool”.
“We are very concerned that consumers were allegedly not warned about the potential dangers of these products and could have been seriously hurt when they used the pools or basketball hoops,” Rickard said.
“Products which do not comply with safety standards cannot be legally sold in Australia.”
The ACCC is seeking penalties, costs and other orders.
Decathlon is an online store which also operates five stores in Melbourne and Sydney.
It is fully owned by its ultimate holding entity, Decathlon S.A. in France which has more than 1,500 stores across more than 55 countries and recorded global sales figures of AU$17.7 billion (€11 billion) in 2017.
Decathlon has been contacted for comment.